Thanks everyone. It's got a bit worse over the last few days, chewing food is difficult so certain foods I'm getting out the blender (blended steak and pasta, mmmm.) I now can't close my eye at all (it stays shut though if I press my eyelid down with my finger) ... but I've taken only a second dose of the steroids so I'm hoping i'll start to see some improvement soon! It's certainly made me take things easy.. i'm not particularly interested in doing work around the house or going out socialising, talking becomes tiring (especially words beginning with B !!)
Just got to keep reminding myself this is just a temporary inconvenience and something i'll just have to deal with if it's still around when bub comes!
I am glad you went to the Drs Deni. I have had Bells Palsy as well and it was really scary to begin with as my Mum had a slight stroke a couple of weeks before.
One thing I was recommended to do, was massage the areas that are affected, eg using two fingers massage all around your mouth and your eye, this also helps stimulate the muscles again.
Be careful about your eye not closing tho, as it will not produce enough tears/lubricant for the eyeball, the doctor suggested to me to put an eye patch on overnight, or tape my eye closed with surgical tape to avoid any infections.
Thanks for the advice Sam. Can I ask, how long until you recovered, and did you go on the corticosteroids? I've got an appt with a specialist optometrist this week to talk about my eye so i'll be asking about how best to protect it!
Sorry Deni, I did not see your reply and I apologise for taking so long to reply.
From memory I think I was prescribed something but I cant remember what. Also I think it took about a month to get the full use of my mouth back and my eye.
One thing I forgot to mention was that the Dr also suggested trying to make Kissing movements with your mouth - no matter how funny it looked, as this would also encourage the muscles to work again.
I hope everything is going well and you are on the road to recovery. You may find down the track that when you are really tired or stressed, your eye may droop a little. Even now I still have this and those that know me will tell me to get some rest.
Good luck sweetie and I hope everything is going ok
Thanks for your reply Samoake, actually I've noticed some good improvements over the last few days. I finish my corticosteroid meds tomorrow, and I also went in for an acupuncture session which I swear made things move along quicker in recovery.
Hopefully within a few weeks I'll have full movement back, I'm feeling much more confident of a full recovery now my mouth is working heaps better and my eye, although not blinking properly yet, is able to close fully when I concentrate. yippee! At least the worst of it will be over when bub arrives (I'm due in 4 days!)
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